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Saturday, 28 April 2012

A Card For Sophie


I meant to post today's card yesterday but I had a real tough time trying to think of the right sentiment for the front of the card. This card was harder than any male card and probably as tough (if not tougher) as any sympathy card I've had to make. 

Very recently the daughter of one of my best friends was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma and she had her first chemo treatment yesterday...the day after her 18th birthday. Sophie is extremely clever (she is head girl at her school and she was accepted to Oxford for after the summer), kind, caring (for the passed 3/4 years she has helped people with special needs on trips to Lourdes), incredibly funny with a fantastic personality and is a joy to be with. 

I wanted to make Sophie a card that wasn't too soppy or deep but would give her encouragement for the coming months ahead. The card was the easy part but like I said the sentiment was causing the problem. I asked for suggestions from lots of people and Google search and in the end combined a few and this is what I came up with....


I think Magnum and Lily are the perfect choice to encourage Sophie...I can just imagine them telling her to Kick Butt!  I shrunk digi Add-On Magnum and used Lily from the Add-On set. The pp is Bo Bunny Swiss Double Dots Tutu Dot. The hearts are the cut out from my Doo Hickey border die. 


I added Glossy Accents to Magnum's nose and to the hearts before sprinkling Glamour Dust on them.



Sophie has 6 months of grueling treatment ahead of her and it's going to be a tough time for her and her family. Michele planted an idea in my head and I've also seen it done on other blogs... I wondered if any of you would like to make Sophie a card to help lift her spirits while going through her treatment? You don't have to do it straight away as it's a long road ahead but over the days, weeks and months I know she would love and appreciate receiving a card or two. 

If you'd like to send Sophie a card, email me at ladybugcraftsink@aol.com and I'll send you my address to send the card which I'll then pass on. I'll also have a button on the sidebar linking to this post which you can post on your blog to spread the word. Thank you :-D

I'd like to enter Sophie's card in the following Challenges:

Fairy Fun Fridays - Anything With Flowers
Glitter Geeks - Stitches (real or faux)
The Poodles Parlour - Anything Goes
Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Catch ya later x

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Birthday Roll Call


Today is a very busy day for birthdays on my calendar so I'd like to wish my BIL, Pat, Sophie and our very own Ladybug Diane a very happy birthday...hip hip hooray!!! I feel like I'm missing someone out...I'm sure I was making a LOT of cards for today lol.

You've already seen my BIL's, Pat's and Sophie's cards so today I'm going to show you Diane's in the hope that she has already received it :-D You can all pick yourselves up off the floor after reading that lol...yup..had it made and posted on TUESDAY!!!!! What can I say...I'm on fire this week rofl!!

Ready? Here it is...



I printed Bouquet Delight bigger than I normally would as I wanted it to fill the card as much as possible and be the main focal point. This made coloring the flowers a breeze. 


I added Glamour Dust to most of the flower centers and some super duper fabbily lushalicious 4 mm Swarovski silver rimmed AB crystals!!


Here's a close up of the SDFLSSRABC!!! Not very sparkilicious in the pictures but IRL...amazing :-D


I looped 4 layers of twine to make the bow


And there you have it! I must say it does look lovely IRL...the pictures aren't showing it's true beauty lol. Hopefully Diane will testify to that ;-D

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes
Copic Marker Europe - Monochromatic
MAWTT - Gardening or Flowers

My friend Elaine came by yesterday to help with the wedding favors and I'm pleased to report all the pearls have been glued and the 80 large rolled roses rolled yaaaayyyy!!!!!! Thanks Elaine :-D Still plenty to do but at least those boxes are ticked.

That's it from me for today. I've got a special card tomorrow so maybe pop back for a looksee.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Catch ya later x

ps This day next month Nicole and Ben will be married...EEK!!!!


Tuesday, 24 April 2012

TLT - M Pee's Challenge - Birfday

Boy oh boy did I get last week's challenge wrong! And when did I realise? Sunday night!!! I was commenting Diane's post and she was talking about circles, squares and triangles and I thought what the heck is she going on about? Oops...quickly had a look at my card and not a circle, square or triangle in sight lol. That's what you get for either being in a hurry or needing an eye test asap! When I read the challenge list I just saw shapes and thought perfect...I've got a shape and went on my merry way lol. Thankfully M Pee didn't get it right either but then she had an excuse as she'd been unwell. Well that's a lesson learned :-0 Just as well I'm the boss otherwise I'd have to sack myself rofl!!

Thank you to everyone who entered our Shapes - CIRCLES, TRIANGLES AND SQUARES challenge. Congratulations...you all have excellent eyesight lololol. You can see if you're the winner of the overall challenge, winner using an LCI image or a Top 3 over at the Challenge Blog.

So onto today's challenge which comes via our very lovely Mary Poppin's herself aka M Pee (don't ask!) aka Michele! It's great to have M Pee back..we all really missed her...especially her one liners. Oh...did you know it's her birfday real soon?? 

Michele's challenge of Birthday is one of my favorites (yes I did read and re-read to make sure I hadn't missed anything!) and this month I've got quite a few...especially on the 26th!! I think I have 5 that day so I have tried very hard to craft in between everything else to keep my tardiness to a minimum so you've all been warned lol.

I used Watering Can Delight for the birthday card I made for my  co-ordinator extraordinaire Lisa. Her birthday was on Saturday and although the card was made way back last week it only got posted yesterday (did you expect anything less lol?) so I'm hoping it arrives today before she sees my post.

This is what I came up with...



I used my new Basic Grey lush Kissing Booth paper pad...it was SO hard to choose which pp to use. I also used my new Die namics wonky scallop border (sorry Catherine!) and stitched the whole thing together. Using my Copics I colored the image though I brought out my Prisma pencils for the grass as I haven't quite mastered grass with my Copics yet. 


Glamour dust was added to the butterflies and flowers and Glossy Accents to the ladybugs


Yummy rolled roses with Swarovski pearls (yes, THOSE pearls I keep harping on about) added to the centers and leaves from my Flower Trio with a birthday sentiment finish it off.


It's really pretty IRL and I hope you like it Lisa :-D

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Die Cutting Divas - Pearls, Pins and/or Punches and Diecut (Spellbinders oval, lacy ovals and Die Namics rolled roses)

Love to Create - Anything Goes
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Truly Madly Crafty Challenge - Handmade Flowers



I think I'm going to spend a few hours on the wedding favours. Hopefully it won't be long before they're finished and I can tick another box :-D

Thanks for stopping by today

Catch ya later x

Monday, 23 April 2012

Phew...all in one piece!


Just a quick update from yesterday's post....Ryan came through with flying colours and is just suffering the usual aches and pains from running around chasing a ball for 90 minutes!! Kilmarnock did beat Hibs (much to Susan's disgust lol) 1-0 and they are now 7th in the table. There are 4 games left in the season and hopefully Ryan will feature in all of them. His teammates were delighted to have him back and apparently there was a hugging session before the game wishing him well...but don't tell him I told you that lol. 

Here are a couple of pictures from the game...





This is a great picture...Hubby, Nic, Ben, Vanessa and Steven under the scoreboard. Don't think they were the target for the picture though lol.

Before the game Nicole and Ben met up with the photographer for the wedding in Edinburgh for some practice shots and this was one of them...


I just LOVE this picture...there's something a bit James Deanish about 
Ben :-D Judging by this picture I think the wedding photo's are going to be fab.

That's it from me...thanks for letting me indulge :-D Make sure you check in tomorrow for our next Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by

Catch ya later x

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Back in action

 I'm feeling extremely nervous and anxious...not good for grey hairs! Ryan is playing in his first First Team game since his injury last August as I type this. I am on tender hooks crossing all my fingers and toes that he comes through unscathed. At the moment Kilmarnock are beating Hibs 1-0 and judging by the commentary on tv they seem to be doing well. I'm banned from going to his games as he always seems to get injured when I'm there :-( Hubby, Nicole, Ben, Steven and Vanessa are all there cheering him on. At half time Nic text to say he was doing well and looked strong. I won't be able to relax until I see him when he gets home and check for bumps and bruises lol. 

For some reason I have to use Chrome to post now instead of Internet Explorer...seems IE is not longer supported by Blogger...not sure why that is??? Seems something is always changing with Blogger these days. Anyone else come across this? As long as I can publish a post I don't care who is supporting me lol.

In between wedding favours and everything else I managed to make a baby card for my friend's new grandson. My friend has now had 4 weddings and 3 grandchildren in 4 years!!! Sadie and I went to our favourite store Mama's & Papa's to buy a present for the new arrival and we were in there for about an hour lol. Don't tell Nicole and Ben but I was planning their nursery!!!!! I cannot wait to add 'Grandma' to my list of titles lol. 

I decided to rest Sleeping Baby Baby and play with Splash Time Baby Baby ...this is what I came up with...



I used Lasting Impressions pp...only 395 sheets left lol. When I was at Craft World last week I picked up a new set of Nesties I'd been uhming and awing over for ages. I coloured the image with my Copics adding Glossing Accents for the water and a bit of Glamour Dust to the bubbles.



I used one of the new felt colours for the flowers...gorgeous Sky.




I think the twisted easel is one of my favourite style of cards at the moment.


I'd like to enter the following challenges please:


Hiding In My Craft Room - Homemade flowers
Mark's Finest Papers - Stitching
Here Come The Boys - Tiddly Peeps
One Stitch At A Time - Anything Goes
PanPastel UK Challenge - Add a Flower


I'm in a bit of a rush to beat the rain....dashing off to take Rocky and Ruby to CB for a good walk. This morning when we were there we had to cut our walk short as there were 5 horses and a scooter there and if Rocky had caught sight of them it would have been a nightmare!!

I'll let you know how Ryan got on. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Catch ya later x

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Get well soon Fran

I made a card for my cousin Fran who is in hospital...I kinda want to keep it cuz I LOVE it lol. I think it's the colours...what do you think...


I'm really into turquoise at the moment ... I think the pp is from a Dovecraft pack though not sure what it's called. The rest of the pp has cups and saucers, teapots,cupcakes and flowers on them...ring any bells? I printed Clear Vase Delight onto PTI cs and coloured it in with my Copics. I added Zircon Swarovski crystals to the centre of some of the flowers and Glamour Dust to the rest....they are sparklicious!!!


Not sure why I always colour water with the lightest of blues as water is clear...maybe it's all the maps I used to love colouring in school lol. Anywho, after colouring the water I covered it with Glossy Accents to make it look more real.


I can't stop using my new Flower Trio die


I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Paper Sundaes - Anything Goes
House of Gilli - Flowers
iCopic Challenge - Spring Colours
Incy Wincy Designs - Digi's only
Karen's Doodles - Something Spring
Make It Mondays - Anything Goes
Simon Says - Anything Goes
Whoopsie Daisy - Anything Goes
Sadly my Uncle Bob, Frans dad, passed away on Good Friday. He was my Grandpa Tom's (my mom's dad) brother and there was another brother Uncle Herbert who passed just after my grandpa so it's an end of an era. My sister Tracey and I used to go to my Uncle Bob and Aunty Millie's when we were small for sleepovers and treasure hunts. I used to (and still do!) eat really fast and Aunty Millie would always say 'Kerry, slow down you're not catching a train' lol. We had great times and have wonderful memories which will stay with us always.

I hope this card cheers you up a bit Fran...please get better real soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Catch ya later x

Saturday, 14 April 2012

Sale Extension!

Well howdy doody bloggers! How did we get to Saturday so quickly? I'm sure I JUST posted my TLT card hmph!

You know the Long Weekend Week Long Sale? Well I've decided to extend it to the Long Weekend Week Long Week Extension Sale rofl. Don't know why but that really makes me giggle lololol. There were a few technical hitches the first 2/3 days so this is to make up for it :-D So you can still purchase your favourite stamps for 1/2 price AND get a free gift!


 I'm getting a teenie weenie bit panicky that I'm not getting enough done these days. Remember the 2700 pearls I glued onto the wedding invites? Well I've now another 5700 to glue on to the place cards!!! How did that happend?? Me and my big mouth that's what lol. I've started the favours and they're lying on the dining room table at different stages. I've just remembered a couple of birthdays I've got coming up so need to get started on those. That's before the usual cooking, cleaning, ironing, dog walking etc!!!

Anywho, enough moaning cuz I've got a card to show you I made a while back...



I love Magnum and I especially love Add On Magnum and I especially love LOVE tying a balloon to his tail and whipping up a cake for him to hold lol. My bunting is shockingly bad but I'm going to go to bunting school...ie Queen of Bunting Ladybug Julie!!! She makes THE best bunting on her cards so watch this space lol.



Pretty sad huh but it is a work in progress lol


I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Crafty Ann's Challenge Blog - It's a Man Thing
Fairy Fun Fridays - Anything Goes
Wags n' Whiskers - Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - On All 4's (4 legged animal)
Scrapbook Sisters - Anything Goes
I've got some shoe new for you....da shoes are in da building!!!!! Woot woot...yes peeps, after a mini marathon and a few blunders I finally got THE shoes for my MOB outfit ... they are totally stunnalicious and I cannot wait to wear them. They're 4" but I think I'll be able to last the whole day in them :-D

Ok...lots to do so I'm going to make a coffee and lock myself away in my craft room. I hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by

Catch ya later xx

Tuesday, 10 April 2012

TLT - Sally's Challenge - Shapes and a new Jess!!

I hope you've all had a lovely Easter weekend and you didn't eat too much chocolate lol! I've got a little stock pile of chocolate waiting until AFTER the wedding. I can't take the chance of not fitting into my MOB outfit...that just wouldn't do! Speaking of wedding...have you seen how many days are left...45 days....eeek!!! I can't believe how the time is flying by...it will be here before we know it and I just hope we'll have everything done!!

Thank you for all your entries to our Spots and Stripes Challenge...you guys were outstanding! I think we got the most entries using an LCI image which we were all very excited about :-D You can hop on over to the Challenge Blog to see if you were a winner of a £10 spend in the LCI store. You'll get extra value for money this because all cling stamps are 1/2 price until Saturday ;-D

Today's Shapes Challenge has been brought to you by our lovely Sally. We want to see what shapes you've got ... something a bit more exciting than a square or rectangle though lol.

I don't know about you but I'm not a fan of odd numbers unless it has a 5 in it. When we released The Teenager's last month there were 13 images so not only was it an odd number that wasn't a 5 it was 13..unlucky for some!!! I got straight on the email and gave Ross my idea for another Jess to even up the numbers and here she is...




This is Shopping Jess...what teenager doesn't love to shop?! I think Jess is looking particularly gorgeous...must be the glow of having all those shopping bags lol. I used an Xcut die...Rectangle Parenthesis...I bought recently after seeing Susan's card...I just loved the shape. They come with a magnetic storage sheet which is brilliant.

After printing Shopping Jess I coloured some of the image with my Copics and paper pieced the rest. I used my new Basic Grey Hopscotch paper pad and Die namics Flower Trio AND new felt colours Baby Pink (top of the 3 flowers) and blush pink (right and top of image). Are they lush or what??!!!


I paper pieced 3 of the shopping bags, Jess's dress and her friend's top.




I used Lasting Impressions pearl brads to hold the flowers together






So there you have Shopping Jess. What do you think? Ok you could argue that there are 7 Jess's and 7 Josh's which is obviously an odd number but I'm working on it lol.

I'd love to enter my card in the following challenges:

Catch The Bug - Anything Goes
Catered Crop - Brads
Robyn's Fetish - Anything Goes
Scrappy Frog Challenge - Shape It Up!
The Crafty Pad - Just Die-delicious
Craft Your Passion - Shaped Card
Make It Monday - Anything Goes

I'll be adding her to The Whole Shebang so you will now receive all 14 images for £19 saving £5.50. You can also purchase her individually for £1.75 or add her to your Multi-buy (just click on Teenager Multi-buy below Jess and enter your choice in the comment box) purchase of 3 digis for £4.50 saving 75p.

Ok I think that's me for today. I'm looking forward to seeing your Shape entries so skedaddle and start creating!!

Catch ya later x 

Friday, 6 April 2012

Long weekend week long sale!!



I woke up this morning and thought...'I think I'll have an Easter sale' lol...so from tomorrow April 7th through to April 14 all CLING STAMPS are 1/2 price with a FREE GIFT and free worldwide postage for orders over £25 :-D

When I was making little Artie's cardSleeping Baby Baby was the image I was originally going to use. I'd stamped it, coloured and paper pieced it, cut it out with a Nestie then decided I didn't like it so coloured up Bear Suit Baby Baby instead. Sleeping Baby Baby sat on my desk for days and kept winking at me so figured I'd better put it to good use and this is what I came up with...


I don't know why I didn't like it cuz I love it now lol. I've used Lasting Impressions pp and a new Die namics die called Trio of Flowers I picked up while at Craft World a couple of weeks ago. It had been on my wish list ever since I saw Pam first use it last year...there was only one left and before I knew it, it grew wings and landed in my basket! Don't you love it when that happens...takes all the decision making out of your hands lol.


The great thing about Lasting Impressions pp is that it comes in a variety of patterns within the same colourway so everything coordinates


This is SERIOUS felt love...I've used Lush Jade Green with a Lasting Impressions brad and my SU! Tiny Tags stamp and punch


I couldn't resist adding another flower to the inside.

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks - Flowers
Digi Doodle's Shops Best - New Stash (Die namics Trio flower die)
Little Miss Muffet Challenges - Spring Colours (pastel)
Paper Play Challenges - Shaped Card
Divas By Design - Anything Goes
Papercraft Star - Anything Goes

Although I stamped the image the stamps are out of stock but you can buy all the Baby Baby images as digi's either as singles for £1.50 each or all 4 images for £5 saving £1...just click Multi Buy in the Baby Baby category

I've got a bit of news on my shoes....THEY'RE IN woo hoo lol!!! I'm going to get the train into Glasgow in the morning after I've walked the dogs and fingers crossed the mark on the heal isn't going to be a big deal. I had a pedicure this morning ... a trial run for the wedding..so my feet are all lovely and soft with Shellac glittery toenails :-D I'm so excited I can't wait lol. I'll let you know how I get on but not sure I'll show you the shoes just yet ;-D

I hope you have a fabulicious Easter weekend.

Thanks for stopping by

Catch ya later x

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

Snow Alert!

Looks like the weatherman got it spot on for a change...it's snowing!!! I got this picture from Suzy Q early doors this morning. She was out walking her pups at stupid o'clock...'fraid my bed was more important at that moment in time lol.



Brrrr...can't believe this time last week I was outside ironing in my shorts!! Made me glad I stayed in my bed :-D

I found some time on Sunday to do a bit of crafting and it felt great:-D I managed to make 3 cards...yup you read right 3!!! Here's the first one....


I just love The Teenager images ... this one is Gossip Girl Jess. I coloured her in with my Copics and added some text to her magazines. The pp is from one of my new paper pads Basic Grey's Hopscotch which I've stitched to coordinating cs. After cutting Jess out with my Nesties and adding the ribbon and fabulicious Loopy Bloom I had a bit of a brainwave. I loved Lisa and Gaynor's cards when they incorporated two Teenagers on one card and knew exactly what I wanted to do with this one. I re-sized Mobile Phone Josh really small, added the text and cut it out with MFT Die-namics Speech Bubble die. I think it worked out pretty well but Ryan and Nicole rolled their eyes when they saw it lol. Ryan can't understand why anyone would send a card that says 'Hey Josh' on it. Unless it says 'Happy Birthday or Get Well Soon' it's rendered useless lol. It took a bit of explaining it was just an idea to share with you guys and I wasn't selling the card....phew!


Oh Josh... (tee hee)



I think Jess and Josh would make a cute couple no?



I know a couple of Ladybugs who might get excited about this card...more for the Loopy Bloom than anything else lol. It's one of 3 new colours that arrived last week and they are so scrumptious! This one is called Baby Pink, there's also Powder Pink and Sunshine which you'll be seeing more of here soon.
 

I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Fashionista Challenge - Anything Goes For Girls
Make It Monday - Anything Goes
Tammy's Scrapin' Corner - Anything Goes
One Stitch At A Time - New (new colour of felt)
Steven went back to Milan 4 weeks ago but is coming home today. It's not really working out for him there as he's too tall, not skinny enough and not weird looking enough lol. He's run out of money too and I'm afraid Bank of Mom & Dad is all tapped out!! He's got something up his sleeve so hopefully that will work for him.

Ryan's recovery from his cruciate operation is still going to plan. He was supposed to play in a reserve game today but it was cancelled. He's come a long way and worked really hard to get back to full fitness which won't come until he has a few games under his belt. Being gym fit is totally different to being match fit. Fingers crossed he'll get to play in the first team in the last few games of the season which will be great for his confidence :-D

Right...I'm going to go and see if I need to get my shovel out and clear the drive. I thought I'd retired it to later on in the year hmph!

Have a great Tuesday!

Catch ya later x